STATISTICS INCOMPLETE ON MISSING CHILDREN

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, keeper of a list of missing Florida children, is unable to say whether most such active cases are parental kidnappings, runaways or something else, officials said.

The FDLE's Law Enforcement Data Center began only last May to break down the cases into different categories, said Mark Scharein, bureau chief at the data center.

As of late July, the breakdown was:

(BU) 4,889 children and adults missing.

(BU) 2,296 children "missing, circumstances not known." This means there was no indication of foul play, but authorities cannot classify the disappearance.

(BU) 930 runaways.

(BU) 34 children who authorities are certain were kidnapped by one of their parents.

(BU) 22 children with physical or mental handicaps who disappeared.

(BU) 57 "endangered" children who were last in the company of someone whom authorities fear might hurt them.

(BU) 32 "involuntary" cases in which authorities are certain the children were abducted against their will by someone outside their family.